There are a wide variety of such cases. However, an automobile product liability case is very expensive to prosecute. Generally, I prosecute these cases only when there is a very severe injury, meaning paralysis, brain injury or death.
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What types of cases are there?
I primarily prosecute roof crush cases. The manufacturers have a duty to manufacture vehicles that have sufficient "occupant protection space" to protect the occupants during a rollover. Too often roofs collapse and crush causing serious injury or death. Additionally, seat belt and seat back failure can cause serious injury. There are also sudden acceleration cases involving vehicles that take off on their own, without any input from a driver or passenger. Also there are the false neutral or false park cases where a vehicle's occupants believe the vehicle has been placed in park or drive and it takes off. There are also numerous other types of cases involving tire failures, brake failure, stability control and other issues. To find out if you have a case, please consult a licensed attorney.
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How expensive are these cases?
The last automobile product liability case I prosecuted, a roof crush case, cost over $200,000 to prepare for trial. At a minimum a mechanical engineer, perhaps two, with significant experience in these cases and a biomechanical engineer will be needed. Additionally, it's likely that a few vehicles of the same type will have to be purchased and tested. This testing will destroy the vehicles. Of course, these cases could be prosecuted for substantially less, but I wouldn't recommend that. Any case with severe injuries should be properly prepared by a knowledgeable attorney.
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